Saturn Vue Green Line Plug-In Hybrid

More volts, more miles per gallon.

Pay attention here, because it gets complicated: Saturn already sells a mild-hybrid Vue, and by the end of this year, it will offer a full or dual-mode hybrid. Now Saturn has confirmed it will offer a plug-in hybrid Vue, which may appear as soon as 2010.

We first heard promises of a plug-in hybrid at the 2006 L.A. auto show. Now we have a firmer date, and if GM really does start producing this version of the Vue in 2010, it would likely be the world's first production plug-in hybrid.

The plug-in Vue's increased battery capacity would give it the extra juice to propel the car under electric power alone for up to 10 miles, reducing the need for the gasoline engine. At higher speeds or when the batteries drain, the gasoline engine will restart.

It will take about five hours to fully charge the Vue from a standard wall outlet, and GM expects fuel economy for a normal consumer on his or her daily grind to double what even the dual-mode hybrid Vue will achieve. In other words, the plug-in Vue could be a near-50-mpg automobile.